Category — Singapore
KL and Singapore
Hello everyone.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes. We did go out for a great curry in KL, but as the beer is so bloody expensive we didn’t really spend too much time in the Reggae Bar.
Rachels folks arrived in Kuala Lumpur on the 17th, so we spent the week preceding mooching around China Town and various shopping malls until the big day.One of the more unusual things I did was go to a fish spa. This involved putting my feet in a big fish tank and letting the fish eat all the dead skin from my feet! It tickles alot but it did work a treat.
First on the agenda for Bob and Sue was a trip around the night market in China Town. Full of fake handbags and dvd’s, it’s noisy, dirty and sometimes very smelly but we all liked it very much! We stayed in China Town Inn, which has a great location on the main market street meaning Rachel and Sue could haggle to their hearts content without worrying about missing the last bus!
The next day we took a trip out to Batu Caves, a huge Hindu temple built into a cliff face. The 272 steps to the entrance was certainly hard work in the heat. Inside we were a bit disappointed to see that the local monkeys had raided the bins but no-one had cleaned up the mess. It was still worth the trip though just for the monkeys, who attacked this Chinese guy for his can of sprite!
Next morning we went into the business district for a trip up the Petronas Towers. Unfortunately we arrived a bit late to get a slot so will be going back in a week or so. The same afternoon we got onto a minibus for a trip to see fireflies on a river west of KL. On the way we stopped to see some wild monkeys of the friendly variety. As you can see by the pics they loved Rachel and Sue almost as much as green beens! After a great seafood meal by the river we jumped onto a small boat to see the firefies. No pictures unfortunately as it was pitch black, but try to imagine a whole riverbank lit up with fairy lights and you’ll be somewhere near.
We were up early the next day to take a bus ride south to Singapore, which was everything we were expecting. Super-clean, high-tech, efficient and judging by the cars, very wealthy.
We spent our first day having dinner at Clarke Quay where me and Bob managed to break our records for the most expensive beer ever (£6 for half a pint!!). From there we headed to the famous Raffles Hotel where we all had the required Singapore Sling at the Long Bar. They were very nice and Sue bought Rachel a glass as a souvenir.
We spent most of the next day on a Chinese Junk taking a tour of Singapore Harbour and nearby islands. The first things you notice are the hundreds of ships anchored just offshore and that the docks are massive making Southampton’s look tiny. In the evening we did China Town, Singapore style, which was spotless, and very civilised. A complete contrast to KL.
Bugis St, which many Naval personnel would frequent while on shore leave has now been turned into a street market, much to Bobs disapointment, but he still managed to get himself a picture in front of the sign. From there we headed to Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Both were excellent and watching the White Tigers feeding time was a highight. One thing that was definately not a highlight was the fire dancing at the Night Safari. I was dragged onstage where I had to strip to my waist and imitate their tribal moves while they threatened to put fire in my mouth. I can honestly say it’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done, though everyone else seemed to thing it was hilarious!
Our final stop in Singapore was Sentosa Island, a small island which has been turned into a leisure resort with man made beaches, a viewing tower, luge ride and many other attractions. We had a great day exploring Fort Siloso, which saw action in the Japanese invasion of Singapore during WWII, aswell as going up the viewing tower and walking through the butterfly farm. The day was capped off by “Songs of the Sea”. This was a spectacular musical show, with the best laser, pyrotechnic, water and light effects we have ever seen.
From Singapore we took a short flight to Penang, a large island north of KL. As it’s largest city Georgetown is World Heritage listed we were expecting something a little more grand than what we got. Still, our hotel was very nice with great views of the sea and we ate the required curry from a hawker centre in Batu Ferringhi market.
We are now in Langkawi, another island near the Thai border. Getting here involved a treacherous ferry crossing from Penang. The sea was extremely rough as there was a storm early in the morning . Sue was a bit ill, along with most of the other passengers. Hopefully the trip back to the mainland won’t be as bad!
We are now half way through our trip and can’t believe how quickly the time has flown by. We hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine in England., or wherever you may be. See you in 6 months!
Matt
Here is a special guest entry by Sue and Bob:
We arrived after a long tiring flight. We were so pleased to see Rachel and Matthew , who met us at the airport. They both look healthy and well bronzed. Well, where do we start?
As you can see from Matthew and Rachels blog our feet have not touched the ground. They have been wonderful hosts and certainly have their wits about them and know exactly what they are doing – more than I can say for us old wrinklies!!
We are having a marvelous time. The trip to the typical Malaysian fishing village where we had dinner and watched the sunset was followed by a magical boat ride to see the fireflies. They were spectacular.
Singapore was very special and we had our Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffles. We went to Turtle Island on a Junk boat trip around the harbour. The last night in Singapore was spent overlooking the sea, watching a superb laser/light show on Sentosa sland.
We are now chilling out on a glorious beach on Langkawi island. We are hiring a car tomorrow to see the sights here. Looking forward to our trip to the Cameron Highlands and the rest of our holiday.
Thank you to our hosts for planning and organising our time with them. What memories we will take home with us. We have enjoyed this holiday so much, but sadly will have to leave them to complete their travels, whilst we return to Blighty. We wish them both a safe onward journey.
Love from Bob and Sue.
May 27, 2009 5 Comments